Fliers were distributed on the Portland State University campus saying one candidate for student body president is a convicted rapist.

(File photo)

A contested election for president of the student body at Portland State University has taken a dramatic turn as fliers labeling one candidate a rapist have appeared throughout campus.

Tony Funchess, 38, a second-year student who is running as part of a 14-person slate dubbed "Step Up, Speak Out, Stand Together," was convicted of attempted second-degree rape and third-degree sodomy and spent nearly three years in the Oregon State Penitentiary. He was released in 2010.

Funchess is a second-year student at PSU, majoring in business administration and community development, and serves as the multicultural affairs director for the student government, known as ASPSU. He is also a past first vice president of the local NAACP chapter; he was removed from that role in 2013.

Polls opened in the ASPSU election April 13 and will remain open through 7 p.m. April 23.

Funchess did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. A story published Wednesday on the website of the Vanguard, PSU's student newspaper, reported that he told his running mates, "I have to live with this. I've been living with it and have figured out ways to navigate it and deal with it."

In a 2014 interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, he said, "I have had challenges in my past. My presence and my involvement speaks to that I am a role model. ... I own that I make mistakes but those mistakes don't make me."

Funchess' vice presidential running mate, Kaitlyn Verret, did not respond to a request for comment Thursday.

Candace Avalos, PSU's student government adviser, referred a request for comment to university spokesman Scott Gallagher. He said the university supports ASPSU financially but is not involved in the student-run election.

He also said the university doesn't do criminal background checks on students. "All students regardless of their background are not prevented from pursuing a degree in higher education," he said.

Marcus Sis, a 23-year-old senior economics major who has been involved in student politics, said the university "isn't doing its due diligence" and that it has a responsibility to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for students.

"I don't know how you can do that when you have someone convicted of these things," he said.

Sis said he doesn't know Funchess but is taking the news of his criminal record personally because Sis was one of four student candidates disqualified from last year's ASPSU election election for sending a mass email to PSU addresses that solicited votes.

"This is such a bigger violation in my mind, especially in a position of public trust," Sis said.

"I hope he does the right thing and resigns," Sis said of Funchess. "I think this campus is really hurting right now." He said other students have told him they now feel less safe at PSU.